"A Hopeful Path Forward?" Adam Hamilton for Friday, May 20, 2016 from Abingdon Press in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

"A Hopeful Path Forward?" Adam Hamilton for Friday, May 20, 2016 from Abingdon Press in Nashville, Tennessee, United States



It was a remarkable week at the United Methodist Church's General Conference. As the delegates gathered in Portland, it became evident that the debate about human sexuality was likely to consume a tremendous amount of time and energy. There were at least 56 petitions and pieces of legislation submitted by conservatives, progressives and moderates addressing same-gender marriage and the ordination of gay and lesbian people. Protests were planned by progressive groups. Some conservatives were preparing to call for the division of the denomination.
I conclude my three-part series about General Conference on my blog with a wrap-up post of the week's events. Click here to read more about what happened and where the issue of human sexuality, same-gender marriage, and the United Methodist Church is headed next. 
A HOPEFUL PATH FORWARD? – PART THREE


Today’s post is Part Three in a series. You can read Part One here and Part Two here.
This was a remarkable week at the United Methodist Church’s General Conference. It was clear as the delegates gathered in Portland that the debate about human sexuality was likely to consume a tremendous amount of time and energy. There were at least 56 petitions and pieces of legislation submitted by conservatives, progressives and moderates addressing same-gender marriage and the ordination of gay and lesbian people. Protests were planned by progressive groups. Some conservatives were preparing to call for the division of the denomination.
On Tuesday of this week, the day before the human sexuality petitions were to be addressed before the delegates, a motion was made and approved by the delegates asking for the Council of Bishops to assert leadership on this issue. The motion passed with a strong majority. This was an historic event; it was the first time in the history of Methodism that a General Conference had made such a request of the Council of Bishops.
The bishops accepted the challenge and mandate and had two special meetings. On Wednesday morning they brought forward to the body a response with specific recommendations. This document, which you can read here, was supported by the vast majority of bishops, including most of those in Africa. The recommendations included:
The formation of a special Commission, named by the bishops, made up of representatives from across every region and the various perspectives in the sexuality debate.
The possibility of a special called two- to three-day General Conference to meet prior to 2020 to address the issue.
The deferral of all human sexuality legislation before the General Conference, referring it to the special Commission.
The bishops would explore ways to “avoid further complaints” and trials while upholding the Discipline.
After some intense debate, the delegates eventually passed a motion accepting these recommendations. With this vote, the General Conference deferred action on the most divisive issue at the conference and accepted the leadership of the bishops in finding a better way of working through the issue. Protests were called off. And delegates were free to focus on the mountain of other petitions that needed attention.
So, did the bishops simply kick-the-can down the road as some suggested? Or did they assert real leadership, keep us from further harming each other, and offer us a mechanism that could help the United Methodist Church find a long-term solution to our differences over human sexuality, one that will allow us once again to focus on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? I believe they did the latter. I believe their proposal is the best hope we have of moving away from the endless infighting, to find a genuine compromise that the majority of United Methodists can live with, and which may fundamentally reorder our life together as a church.
There’s still anxiety around this proposal, mostly around who will serve on the Commission. I believe the bishops will earnestly choose recognized leaders from the various factions in the church who can ensure the plan addresses their concerns.
In order for this effort to have a chance at success, the bishops and this Commission must find a long-term solution upon which all sides can agree. That solution may include a fundamental re-ordering of our life together as a people called Methodists. All of the options brought to this General Conference should be considered, as well as things no one has yet considered.
There is a tremendous opportunity the bishops have been provided to “rethink church,” and I pray the Commission and the bishops take advantage of this. The work of the Commission will be challenging, with so many different voices around the table. There will be a continuing need for leadership from our bishops and whatever proposals come before a future General Conference must be ones which the bishops have stacked hands on and own as their proposal for the future of the United Methodist Church.
Is it possible for the United Methodist Church to stay together? Yes, but it is also possible that some on either end of the theological spectrum may leave, no matter what. Some came to General Conference making plans to leave. But the vast majority of churches and pastors I have spoken with long for the unity the bishops speak of in their proposal. I pray that the bishops and Commission seize the opportunity to create a path forward that the vast majority of our churches can unify around.
We are a church of the via media – the middle way – a church that values and holds together in tension ideas and impulses that seem like opposites. The United Methodist Church has been described as a church of the radical or extreme center. That extreme center is a place of tension, but it is also one of great spiritual depth and power precisely because it draws upon seemingly opposite impulses and holds them together. We are stronger because we have both liberal and conserving impulses. We have a more holistic approach to ministry because we hold together the evangelical and social gospel. We are better for insisting that we are a church of both the head and the heart. I would suggest that we need both the left and the right, and it is my prayer that the church’s bishops will help us find a way to live together maintaining “the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.”
Photo credit: Book of Discipline photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS

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AN OFFERING FOR A WAY FORWARD

Galatians 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,[Galatians 3:29 Gk seed] heirs according to the promise.(New Revised Standard Version)

Your bishops were honored to receive the request of General Conference to help lead our United Methodist Church forward during this time of both great crisis and great opportunity. As far as we can discover, this is the first time that a General Conference has ever made such a request of the Council of Bishops, and we accept this request with humility. We share with you a deep commitment to the unity of the church in Christ our Lord. Yesterday, our president shared the deep pain we feel. We have all prayed for months and continue to do so. We seek, in this kairos moment, a way forward for profound unity on human sexuality and other matters. This deep unity allows for a variety of expressions to co-exist in one church. Within the Church, we are called to work and pray for more Christ-like unity with each other rather than separation from one another. This is the prayer of Jesus in John 17:21-23. UNITY We believe that our unity is found in Jesus Christ; it is not something we achieve but something we receive as a gift from God. We understand that part of our role as bishops is to lead the church toward new behaviors, a new way of being and new forms and structures which allow a unity of our mission of "making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world" while allowing for differing expressions as a global church. Developing such new forms will require a concerted effort by all of us, and we your bishops commit ourselves to lead this effort. We ask you, as a General Conference, to affirm your own commitment to maintaining and strengthening the unity of the church. We will coordinate this work with the various efforts already underway to develop global structures and a new General Book of Discipline for our church. Strengthening the unity of the church is a responsibility for all of us. PRAYER We accept our role as spiritual leaders to lead the UMC in a "pause for prayer" - to step back from attempts at legislative solutions and to intentionally seek God's will for the future. As a Council of Bishops, we will lead the church in every part of the world in times of worship, study, discernment, confession and prayer for God's guidance. We ask you, as a General Conference, to join us in this effort, beginning this week. We were moved by the sight of delegates praying around the table, and we hope these efforts will continue. As your bishops we are ready to join you and to lead you in these times of prayer. PROCESSES We have discussed in depth the processes which might help our church heal and move forward - up to and including the possibility of a called General Conference in 2018 or 2019. We have not finalized our plans for such processes, but we will keep working on options we have heard from many of you, and we will keep reporting to this General Conference and to the whole church. NEXT STEPS We recommend that the General Conference defer all votes on human sexuality and refer this entire subject to a special Commission, named by the Council of Bishops, to develop a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph in our Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality. We continue to hear from many people on the debate over sexuality that our current Discipline contains language which is contradictory, unnecessarily hurtful, and inadequate for the variety of local, regional and global contexts. We will name such a Commission to include persons from every region of our UMC, and will include representation from differing perspectives on the debate. We commit to maintain an on-going dialogue with this Commission as they do their work, including clear objectives and outcomes. Should they complete their work in time for a called General Conference, then we will call a two- to three-day gathering before the 2020 General Conference. (We will consult with GCFA regarding cost-effective ways to hold that gathering.) CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS We will continue to explore options to help the church live in grace with one another - including ways to avoid further complaints, trials and harm while we uphold the Discipline. We will continue our conversation on this matter and report our progress to you and to the whole church. Today, as a way of beginning to find our way forward, we suggest that in place of the allotted legislative time we spend 1-2 hours of plenary time in prayer, confession and exploration of a creative way forward. The bishops are prepared to provide questions to guide your conversations. Your conversations will be the first step to a way forward.

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